An objective way forward

Katherine Hutchinson speaks to FDA member Rebecca* about her experiences facing difficult circumstances at work, and the ways in which the FDA was able to help her.

Rebecca first decided to join the FDA following a difficult period more than a decade ago: “Having covered a senior role for a long time, I applied for that role permanently. As a consequence of not being successful, I found myself without a role for an extended period of time. I felt really exposed with a lack of direction at a vulnerable time. I didn’t feel valued and had no idea what my future was. It didn’t feel like there was any protection or support – no-one was looking out for me in that respect. It was at that point I realised how important it was to have the advice and support that a union could offer.”

Rebecca wanted to ensure she would have help in future: “I’d seen other colleagues struggling at times for various reasons and realised, whoever you are, events happen where you need help so I felt that having union support would be a very good route. It would be a valuable coping mechanism through certain challenges because it’s always good to know there’s someone you can call on for advice and guidance.”

More recently, Rebecca was in the midst of an exceptionally difficult situation at work where she felt she was “being forced out of an organisation that I’d worked so hard for, for a long time and I didn’t know which way to turn. I felt the way I’d been treated wasn’t supportive, reasonable or fair.

“I was in a very difficult position. I was absolutely floored by some decisions that were made that impacted me personally, detrimentally, and I completely broke down.”

At this point, Rebecca reached out to the FDA: “I wanted to see if they could help me try and get things in perspective because when things are happening to you, you want to be sure that you’re being objective, pragmatic and reasonable. What I relied on the union for was validation of how I was feeling, a view on how I’d been treated and what was the appropriate course of action given their vast range of experience. For me, it was really important to have that independent, objective perspective applied to my circumstances, so that I knew whether my reaction was justified or not.” 

“When colleagues at the union heard my circumstances, they were incredibly supportive – I felt a weight was lifted. They were able to rely on their experience to explain how and why what had happened was neither fair nor reasonable and over time, they provided me with the advice, guidance, and access to professional support to ensure that I was listened to and treated fairly.”

Rebecca “trusted” the FDA to provide her with the facts: “Knowing that there was someone at the end of the phone who had no pre-existing experience of the situation and could actually provide insight from an independent, objective view to advise me factually in terms of next steps was very valuable…  They supported me throughout a very difficult, upsetting and stressful period.”